Cursed
by babystigmata
Summary: There can be no triumph without evil. No love without hate. Two who share the same fate are brought together to heal scars of the other. Along with the help of their friends,they will face hardships to find the meaning of living.
1. Stolen

**Disclaimer: Of course I don't own Harry potter! geez! except the upcoming characters! hehehe...you mite not know who i'm talking about...but you will......oh yes, soon enough...you will! evil laughter :cough: :gag: now! on with the story!**

**Ch. 1 The Dream**

In the quiet of the night, all were sleeping inside the Ministry of Magic....well, all but two people and some guards dozing on the job. Somewhere in the shadows, through the thick sound proof walls, were to masculine voices discussing seriously that only they would know...or so it seemed. Unbeknownst to them, another person was lurking behind a shadowed pillar, hanging on their every word, trying to identify who they were.

" Are you sure this creature is capable of such things?"

" I am positive, my lord. There is no mistaking it."

" Very well. If I find it not useful, it will be your life and that creature's".

One of the men gulped inaudibly but the other knew he was nervous.

" Y-yes. Of course! But I am sure it will do well on-"

" Silence!" commanded the deep voice. This was obviously a powerful man. He sounded like he was planning something, but what? What could he be planning? _Whatever it is, it sounds evil_, thought the guard.

" We do not want anyone...to spread the word, if you may," the powerful, hooded man said.

" My lord! I would never-!", the other man started.

" I know you wouldn't, you know the consequences. But....the Mudblood may not."

" Mudblood? But there is no one but us-."

_Oh no! He knows I'm here! What am I going to do?! He'll kill me for sure! But I can't die yet! I have to watch over her! I know! I'll disguise myself! Yes!_

" Come out now! I may spare you!" the hooded man called.

There was a faint flash of blue light coming from behind one of the pillars.

Voldemort caught it and sent a Stunning Spell straight at it. But he missed and his companion was shocked to say the least and wildly looked around, as if looking for the culprit. Voldemort stood still as he listened for any hushed footsteps as he gripped his wand.

The unknown culprit snuck away behind another pillar closer to the door, as to not draw any attention toward themselves. Then took out a firecracker with the label ' Weasleys' Wizarding Whizbangs' written in yellow and threw it in the opposite direction. It exploded as soon as it hit the floor. There was a aloud '_pop_' and then an assortment of colors exploded in enery direction, clouding the dome room in colored smoke. The culprit then ran to the opposite door and went through it.

Voldemort was not to be fooled though. He knew it was only a distraction and as soon as he heard and saw the explosion, he whipped around and looked wildly around the room until a slamming of a door was heard. He looked at the door, opposite of the one that he had come. He headed in that direction and his accomplice followed him through the door. No sooner had he stepped through it, he was electrified as was his accomplice. They both screamed out in pain, Voldemort more in anger. He should've known that there were traps in a place like this. It was the Ministry after all and he _was_ going to steal a weapon from this place. This ' weapon' he was going to take _was_ very powerful, from what he'd heard. The Ministry wouldn't have been _so_ stupid as to leave it unguarded after he had fought that damn Harry Potter. They wouldn't have let it go unguarded after all they had done, experimenting and adding onto what the 'weapon' already had. He had everything planned, and so far, it had started out perfect. He inwardly grinned with satisfaction.

The 'culprit' had run into the 'Weapon' Room and then disillusioned themselves to reveal a woman. She had fiery red hair and bright green eyes. She pulled her wand out and stepped in front of the circular tube tank that held what looked to be clear green water, or possibly potion. As the Holy powered shield that protected the 'weapon' zapped the two men, one of whom she believed to be Voldemort, she turned around momentarily to look at the 'weapon' in the tank. There was a figure in the middle of the tank, a body in the figure of a cross. Long black hair floated around gently around a masked face. From what she had been told about this creature, this 'weapon' was a female and had been found close to death, in an ancient shrine about 500 years ago. This mysterious woman was said to have sacred powers and had been a mysterious, but helping, person. She had been the most powerful priestess's reincarnation, a miko(priestess), or so ancient scrolls had said people of Feudal Japan believed.

The woman-guard remembered how the Unspeakables would come in every day and experiment on the poor girl's body, how they would test potions on her and feed her brain with their knowledge, and tested on her with only the Unspeakables knew what. The Unspeakables were trying to make the perfect weapon, even before the Dark Lord had come, then they worked on her non-stop....until it was prophesized, that one boy would be born, the only one who could defeat Voldemort. Then, they stopped coming as much as they used to, they left her with different guards every 15 years, never thinking that anyone would know about this girl they used as a guinea pig, this girl that had never aged during her deep slumber, this girl that had never awakened, and probably never would. She was as good as dead to them. Now, as the newest guard stood there thinking of how lonely it must be for her. This girl whose face she had never laid eyes on, was all alone in her own mind, with only the knowledge and her memories of her old life. Countless times the guard wondered what had happened to the miko, how she had come near dead, but no one knew but the victim herself. The determined guard put her hand against the glass, the touch cooling and comforting, she whispered a silent message to the girl in the glass tank. _i will help you. I will watch over you. I will not let them take you. I promise._

The guard then turned to face the Dark Lord and his helper, her wand ready. Hopefully someone had heard the noise! But then her heart fell as she remembered the walls were sound proof. _Damn!_ she cursed. No one would hear all the ruckus they were making! The young woman thought wildly for something to help alert the Aurors and the Minister or anyone! Then something in her mind clicked. She once again turned to look at the girl in the tank and her hand touched the glass again, upon the girl's face and spoke. " Please, help me save you. I need to borrow your power very quickly, to alert the others of danger!"

As soon as she said _danger_, the tank began to glow an eerie bright light and the guard felt warmth at her fingertips and it soon corrupted her. The light spread all throughout the Ministry and those on guard woke from their light sleep. In fact, everyone who lived or had stayed the night in the Ministry awoke, even the nighttime critters that usually prowled the night, all feeling the danger and heading out to where the voice in their head told them, wands at the ready.

( except the critters o course! duh)

The light subsided in the 'Weapon Room', leaving the two zapped men face down on the marble floor. The young female guard opened her eyes and whispered a 'thank you' and turned around before the hooded man got up. When he did, he pointed his wand at her, she did the same. Now, standing, were two people, about to engage in a battle, both knowing their time was running out. The man's red eyes glared out at her as he spoke, " I will kill you now Mudblood! You interrupted my mission, and for that you will pay with your life!"

Inwardly she shivered, for she really was frightened. Here, the infamous Dark Lord was threatening her life because of one girl. _Damn, he is sooo pissed at me!_ she thought. _I hope mum takes care of George, feeds him, takes care of him if I don't make it home alive! _Funny, in what she thought her 'last moments', she was thinking of her overly large cat. Then anger coursed through her, as well as determination. She was not going to die! She was going to live through this, she was going to live and fulfill her job, her oath to protect this girl.

This time she spoke with cool determination and a straight forward voice.

" I will not! I will _live_ and you will be the one to pay with your life!"

He burst out laughing, liking her rebellious manner. The idea of him losing his life was ludicrous.

" I would happily leave if you would move out of my way and let me retrieve what i came here for." he replied. " Or should I kill you and get what I came here for anyway?"

" You will not kill me, _nor_ will you be taking Serenity! She stays here! And you will die!" she retorted, letting slip the name she had given the young girl because of the way she had a tranquil, peaceful aura, yet loneliness emanating from her tank as well.

" Serenity, is it? Hm, well, you give me no choice but to kill you, Mudblood! All who defy me, Lord Voldemort, die painful deaths. You will be just like all the others, dead." He pointed his dark wand at her, like he had at all the others.

Her eyes widened as her heart beat painfully in her chest and head. He started his incantation, but she didn't hear any of it, her eyes glued to his wand. When she saw the light start protruding from the tip of it, she couldn't breathe. But before it could pinpoint at her, he moved it to the left, over her shoulder.

Voldemort saw her eyes widen and heard her gasp as his spell hit the glass tank behind her, shattering it. He didn't have time to give her the slow, painful death she deserved for he knew the Aurors were nearing them as they spoke.

The young woman was in shock, she had failed Serenity! She had failed the Ministry! She gasped when she heard the _crack _of someone disapparating, realizing that it was Voldemort. She whipped around to see Voldemort lifting the poor defenseless girl from the ground gently. She rushed forward, about to tackle him but he disapparated again, back to his companion on the ground, he held him up by the scruff of the neck. _NO!_

" NO!" she heard herself shout.

Just then, the Holy powered door was blasted open as dozens of Aurors and Unspeakables, and the Minister of Magic himself came pouring in. They all stood shocked, horror evident on their faces as they surveyed the scene before them. The Dark Lord himself was standing there, holding a girl in his arms and a man, shattered glass as well as potion scattered on the floor. They looked to the woman who was supposed to be guarding the 'weapon', she was standing there, wand out, and looking horrified.

_Silence..._

Everything exploded, much like a balloon. Spells and hexes were sent flying at Voldemort but he merely dodged them and Apparated everywhere, not Apparating to his hideout yet, no, he was too keen on delivering a message.

" As much as I enjoy this, I can't keep this poor girl waiting. We have somewhere to be, places to destroy, and people to kill. But before we go," he said, everyone had stopped their spells, already giving up and accepting the fact that they wouldn't and most likely couldn't catch or kill Voldemort, " I want you to be aware Minister, that this girl is the very one to help me. She is exactly what I need. Remember this girl, for you shall be seeing her soon enough, along my side, when we destroy, when we kill, when we take our revenge on everyone in this damned world, starting with you!" He laughed as the Aurors began attacking again. He pulled out a small vial filled with green potion and threw it at the Aurors. It exploded into a purple gas, making everyone in the room cough except for him.

Everyone present in that room heard his triumphiant laughter ring in their ears. The female guard took one look at the girl in Voldemort's arms, her long black hair, wet from the tank in which she was held, cascaded under her, her arms dangling from her limp form. Her guard remembered the promise she had made, and was intent on keeping it. She watched as Voldemort Disapparated in a _crack_, along with the miko and the man.

_I promised I would protect you! I promised! I will find you! No matter what it takes! _she thought in her mind.

Unknown to her, countries away, someone was thinking the same thing....

_Serenity_


	2. Distant Voice

DISCLAIMER: I Don't Own Anything Of Harry Potter Or Any Related Materials....well, maybe a copy of the books...oh! and a bookmark...But thats it! I swear!

OH! I DO own...well..i can't tell you WHAT characters I own though...cuz I wouldnt wanna ruin anything...well....yea....soooooo! OH YEA! IM GONNA CHANGE THE NAME, AND THE SUMMARY CUZ I WAS IN A HURRY TO POST SOOOOO! BE AWARE! JUST LOOK FOR MY FAN FICTION NAME, OK? OH OH OH! I'M ALSO GONNA BE WRITING IN DIFFERENT POINT OF VIEWS OR P.O.V! KK? OK! NUFF SAID!

SOOOOOOOO! ON WITH THE STORY!

**Chap.2 Distant Voice**

Children were heading home as the hot summer day drew to a close. They had seized all manner of throwing rocks at oncoming cars, playing in the small lake, and playing on the playground to go home to their fine meals and families.

As a group of elementary children were heading home on their new bicycles, one child screamed, " Hey look! An owl! What is that?"

The other children looked up eagerly, hoping to spot a U.F.O or something out of the ordinary. For those who were, they got their wish.

" Hey! Its carrying a newspaper! Look!" a few laughed while others stood beside their bikes in awe, watching as it headed toward Number four Privet Drive, onto a dark haired, bespectacled boy's awaiting arm.

" Wow! I wish my owl could do that!" a boy with blond hair and blue eyes said. Another kid in the group, a girl, rolled her eyes and said, " You don't have an owl!"

" I know! But I wish I did!" he said still looking up at the boy in the window.

Harry watched the kids staring up at him and the owl who'd carried ' The Daily Prophet' newspaper. He wasn't sure if it was ok for them to witness that. He watched them leave while listening to them chat away about how they were going to beg their parents for one. He chuckled slightly, his green eyes twinkling as he watched them go until he heard his Aunt Petunia call him from downstairs.

" Yes, Aunt Petunia?" he asked while running down the stairs to meet his awaiting aunt in the kitchen.

" Did you write that blasted letter to your mad eyed lunatic of a friend?" Uncle Vernon asked looking at Harry with the expression of disgust and fear.

Harry grinned at the nick name Uncle Vernon had given Mad-eye Moody. Little did he know, that was his real name.

" No, I didn't. May I go back upstairs now?"

" What are you smiling about?" Aunt Petunia asked in a haughty manner.

" Nothing! I'm not smiling!" Harry said putting his hands up defensively.

" Like Hell you weren't! Now get me my dinner boy!" Uncle Vernon told him.

Then, as if electrified by invisible lightning, he sat upright, and muttered a 'Please' while glaring at him.

Harry inwardly grinned at this. Ever since they had returned home, the Dursleys' had been taking Mad-eye's threat seriously...if you can call it seriously.

Every time they would command them to do something, they would remember the threat, even if they didn't mention it, and mutter their manners.

After he had fetched Uncle Vernon's dinner, he headed back upstairs to finish Mad-eye's letter. Usually he would be writing to Sirius.......but...he was dead. Harry had accepted the fact that his wanted god-father was now gone, and was never coming back, no matter how much he wanted him to. He had had a lot of time thinking about it until the Weasleys' gave him something else to think about. They had invited him over to their home to stay for the rest of the summer, Mrs. Weasley saying it would be good for him to get away from the Dursleys'. He knew she wanted him to cheer up about Sirius's death but how could he if everything reminded him of Sirius? If he did visit the Weasleys', the magic would only be more of a reminder. His birthday was in a couple of weeks, the first without Sirius, well, he had had a number of birthdays without him, but that was before Harry knew Sirius existed. Now Sirius wasn't going to be here to clap him on the shoulder and jokingly congratulate him on another year closer to his death.

Harry sighed. _Nothing is the same anymore_, he thought. _Why did it have to change? Why couldn't life just be normal?_ He picked up the _Daily Prophet_, took one look at the front cover and gasped.

There on the front cover was a picture of Voldemort, or a hooded man. Harry frantically read the article.

When he had finished reading, Harry just stood there looking blankly at the wall opposite him. His mind was still processing the information.

_He....he...stole a weapon? He went back to the Ministry? He came back three weeks ago, stole a powerful weapon built to cause chaos, and.....THEY WERE JUST TELLING US NOW?! _he screamed violently through his mind. He let out an angered sigh. They just told us now?! Voldemort had probably already killed millions of people, destroyed cities, homes, and the damn Ministry of Magic had just told them now? He had a half mind to destroy whatever his hands could reach but thought better of it. His guardians wouldn't be too happy about that. Speaking of which, Dumbledore probably wouldn't allow him to leave the Dursleys' since Voldemort had taken a powerful weapon to destroy everyone and everything. He cursed. _But then, if this happened three weeks ago, wouldn't Dumbledore already know about this? If he had...why hasn't he said anything?_

Harry tried to figure this out, but soon gave up. He sighed and took a look outside while stretching his tired muscles. It was dark and the streetlights were on. He looked at the clock on his bedside table which read 8:14. He had hadn't eaten yet because he had wanted to finish Mad-eye's letter but his appetite had been quashed from the fact that Voldemort had a weapon that could destroy them all. He muttered curses under his breath as he headed downstairs into the kitchen to get a snack. He opened the refrigerator and peered inside.

_Hmmm......leftover dinner.....milk....juice....hmm....nothing, _he muttered before closing the door. He walked to the pantry and found nothing, nothing in the cabinets. He sighed for the millionth time and looked out the kitchen window into the night. He felt some fresh air would do him good, so he went out the front door, across Uncle Vernon's perfect lawn, and headed to the playground. When he got there he sat down on one of the swings and swayed back and forth slowly while he thought about things. How was he going to get to the Weasley's? Was Dumbledore going to make him stay at the Dursleys'? If he _had_, wouldn't he have done so or alerted Harry already? He sighed again and got up from his seat. He was too tired to think anymore. He had to ask Mad-eye or someone when he got the chance.

Harry was about to cross the street when he heard a voice scream out frantically.

" Hello? Is someone there? Please! Someone help me! Please!" , he heard.

" Who's there?" he said to no one while turning around, as if expecting to see someone. This voice was definitely a girl's. But who she was, he didn't know, but he was going to find out. He took a couple steps behind him and listened hard.

" Please! He's going to kill me! Help me! Please!" he'd heard again. Her voice was eerie. It echoed throughout his mind. He took off running in the direction he was facing. He didn't know where he was going, only that he needed to get to this girl and help her.

" Where are you? I'm coming!" he cried while running past shops and stores. People moved out of the way for a crazy teen, not wanting to be barreled by him and they all gave him crazy looks. He paid no mind though, he needed to help this girl. He needed to find her quickly before she was killed or whatnot.

He heard her voice again, echo through his mind.

" I'm here! Please! Help me! I'm going to die! I-I need your help!" she cried.

" Don't worry! I'm coming! Don't worry!" he cried when he heard her sobbing. He still ran to who-knows-where, it was like his legs had a mind of their own. Harry was soon aware that the girl he'd heard had gasped and stayed quiet for a moment.

"Oh no..."she said in a hushed voice," He's coming! You've got to help, please! No!" she screamed.

Harry's heartbeat sped up even more than when he had started running.

" No! Stay away! Get away from me! NO!" she cried, her voice panicky.

It was then she screamed.

Harry stopped right then and there, straining his ears to see if he could hear the strange girl again. When he couldn't find any, he looked around him as he panted for air. He found himself in an unidentifiable area, trees surrounding him, flowers here and there.

_Where am I...?_ he questioned himself. He laid down onto the soft, cool grass and instantly fell asleep.

When Harry finally awoke, he sat up and looked around since he couldn't see very well the night before. What had happened to that girl? He was sure that something had bad had happened to her. He felt guilty for a moment when he realized that her voice had been in his head. This confused him to no length. _How-what-why-when-where....sigh All of this gets more confusing by the second!_ he thought. How was he going to figure all of this out when he didn't even know where he was? Another thing to add on his long list of unsolved mysteries.

(A/N) SOOOOOO! How was it? A lil boring I think but, HEY! Would you think that's a cliffhanger? I think it is a lil but...hmm....oh! and next chapter will be in other people's P.O.V! New people, original people, young people, old people, everyone! sooooo PLEASE R&R!


	3. Found

(A/N) Hey everyone! I was reading my story over and found some typos! damn typos! (and kikyo(the evil kikyo, not the nice 50 years ago kikyo)) Well, I'm doing this on Wordpad , not on Microsoft Word because i just don't like it! SSSSSSOOOOOOOO! Bear with me! And thanx for reviewing! even if i got 3 reviews! I might not be writing as often cuz i might have writer's block and need to sort things out, if you have authored a story, you know exactly what I'm talking about! And I also need to change my summary, I'm not sure about the name just yet! SSSSOOOOOO!

PLEASE ENJOY MY STORY AND R&R!!!!!!!!!!!! TANKIES TO MY FEW REVIEWERS!

(and notice how the name of this chappie refers to both cases! i just found that out! hehehe! isnt that kewl? lol! well...yeeaaaa...i'll leave you to read....)

A/N: OOOOH! YYYEEEEEAAA! EHEHEHE...WELL THIS STORY IS GOING TO BE A SLIGHT INUYASHA CROSSOVER. I'M GOING TO HAVE SOME CHARACTERS FROM INUYASHA THE ANIME. SO IF YOU DON'T KNOW ANY CHARACTERS, I'LL EXPLAIN THEM AS I GO ALONG! OK? OK!

Disclaimer: I DON'T OWN ANY HARRY POTTER OR ANYTHING OF THE SORT OR INUYASHA

**Ch.3 Found**

Harry walked and found himself back at the shops from where he thought he had come. Some people stared at his disheveled appearance, while some shopkeepers had remembered him as the crazy runaway teen from last night. He kept his head down, thinking again, while not noticing where he was going, that is, until he bumped into someone.

" Harry?!" a voice said.

" Oh, sorry I-Mrs. Weasley?!" he had looked up to see Mrs.Weasley standing there before him, in her best Muggle clothing with a bright smile on.

" Harry, oh it's so good to see you! Where are your uncle and aunt?" she asked looking behind him.

He avoided her gaze and said, " They're not here."

" What do you mean they're not here? Surely you didn't come here by yourself! Did you?" she questioned with a concerned look upon her features.

" Well, actually I did." he said. " But it was an accident!" he added hastily when she opened her mouth.

Upon seeing her confused expression, he explained," You see, I was out taking a walk, thinking I needed fresh air when...I got deep in thought and...just...walked off. I didn't know I had gotten lost until I found myself in some kind of park." ( A/N..I have never been to England or anywhere in Europe so bear with me!)

" Still thinking about Sirius, are you?", when she got no answer, she said gently," Don't worry Harry, I know it still hurts but you have to move on, Sirius wouldn't want you moping around because of him!"

"Ok?" she said giving him a reassuring pat on the shoulder.

Harry, glad yet confused that she had twisted this into something caused by Sirius' death, replied with a 'yes'.

" Come on now, let's go," she said leading the way back to the Dursleys'.

When they finally got there, they went in and Harry thanked Mrs.Weasley before his aunt and uncle came interrupted.

" Hello!" Mrs.Weasley said merrily and waved at them. " How are you? You must remember my husband and I. You know, Arthur?"

At Mr.Weasley's name, the Dursleys' widened their eyes and subconsciously took a step backward.

" I was just dropping Harry off! Found him wandering the streets late this morning! And you weren't there chaperoning him! Can you give me any idea why not?" she questioned. Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia didn't say a thing, just stood there wide-eyed at Mrs.Weasley. Upon seeing this, Mrs.Weasley gave Harry a wink and turned back to the stupefied Muggles.

" Well, I guess I shall be going now," she said waiting for an answer, but at not receiving one she spoke again, "aaaaaand I'll be taking Harry with me. Run along now, go get your things Harry." He stood on the bottom-most stair, looking at his guardians for some approval. Then, after a moment of staring, he went up to his room to pack. Since he couldn't do it the magic way, he had to settle for the old-fashioned way, something he was not happy about.

.......................................:Scene Change:.....................................................

:somewhere in the country:

::BOOM::

"What was that?!"

A man and a teenage girl looked up from where they were seated on their back porch at their château in the country.

" Probably just the dragons, don't worry about it honey," he said looking back down at the dragon catalog he was reading. He had dark hair and brown eyes.

" But Dad! That was a huge explosion! It didn't look like any dragon fire!" the girl protested. She stood up and peered out into their very huge 'backyard', trying to make anything out in the dark. She stood about 5"10 and had an American accent like her father. She was dressed in a shirt that said ' Yeah....Sure.....Whatever.....ok......huh?" and jeans with black and white Vans (dont own the company! but if i did, id be reeaally rich! hehehe).

" Well if you're so worried, why don't you go check it out?" he said.

" Yeah, I'll do that," she replied, grabbing a Nimbus 2001, climbed aboard, and zoomed toward the explosion.

" Be careful for the dragons honey! Don't want another accident like last time!" he reminded her. When she was far away he smirked while he remembered that incident," Heh, took a week for the dragon dung smell to get out of her hair and clothes." Then he busted out laughing.

Mai headed toward the explosion, with her broom light on, her father's reminder in her head the whole time. She groaned when the memory came back to her.

FLASHBACK

_It was a cold summer in California, which was very unusual, and Mai's father's dragons were restless. They would constantly blow fire at each other because they didn't like the cold weather much. They had been going at it all day and Mai had gotten fed up. She went to calm them down and was doing a good job until one of them had decide to try and torch her. _

_She was blown back into a pile of fresh dragon dung, and it wasn't pleasant._

_Her father had laughed the whole while of helping her clean up._

END FLASHBACK

Starr, or Mai Starr as she was born, neared the dragons her father was caretaking, and circled around them. They knew her scent and didn't bother to attack her but some even tried to play with her. She just kept zooming on to where up ahead, she saw a huge crater. It was like, very huge, Mai was sure that at least four full sized dragons into it. She gasped when she saw it, and zoomed down into the crater.

_What could have made this? _she thought looking down and around her. She was still at least ten feet above the ground. She coughed when some dirt got into her mouth and wiped the grit out of her eyes. _It couldn't have been the dragons, no, they aren't strong enough to do this! Then...what was?_

Mai's cat green eyes swept the bottom of the crater, searching for any clue that could have caused the deep hole. She was about to fly out when a dark figure caught her eye. She cautiously flew toward it, not sure whether this thing was a danger to her or not. ( OOPS! Forgot to tell you that it was night!!! hehehe...) When she neared, she was surprised to see an outline of a person. She hovered close to the ground before dismounting her broom and walked slowly over to the person who was now lying in her backyard. The person was lying facedown and dressed in a weird type of clothing but soon realized that the person was wearing the garb of a miko(priestess), but mikos had existed over 500 years ago! Mai knew because this she was part Japanese and Mexican. Whoever this girl was, she was obviously a girl for no man would wear a miko outfit, at least....she didn't think so.

Mai crouched next to the figure and turned her slowly over, careful not to disturb her injuries if she was injured. She uttered a small gasp when she saw the girl have a strange mask on her face. She leaned closer to put her ear next to the mask and check for breathing, her black and green tipped hair cascaded down into the masked face. When she heard a low rattling of breath, her heart pounded in her chest. She quickly got up and wondered if she should risk carrying the girl back to her father or just give the warning. She decided she didn't want to take the risk and put two fingers in her mouth and blew.

Mai looked up at the top of the crater into the darkness and was surprised to see a very breathtaking sight. She had expected to see a dragon but instead saw three phoenixes.

The one on the far left was a magnificent deep blue with green tipped wings. It's eyes were a vibrant green that rivaled her own.

The one on the right was a plum color and silvery blue tipped wings with swirls of more silver on its stomach swirling down to its feet with dark grey eyes.

But the one that had captured Mai's eyes, was the one in the middle. It had a disturbing aura about it, it wasn't a bad thing, it only felt...odd, was the only word she could think of.

The one in the middle was a pure white color with silver swirls on its stomach like the plum phoenix. But this one was unique because it had gold outlining its silver-grey eyes and gold mixing with the swirls of silver.

This was a _very_ rare sight to see because phoenixes were rare and few were left in the world. Mai knew from stories and reading that phoenixes choose their protectors and when they are born, they set off to find that one special person to protect and be protected by. But what puzzled Mai more, was the fact that there were _three _of them here, in her backyard, and a strange girl no less. One of them had to be looking for the strange girl in front of her.

Mai's green eyes connected with each of the phoenixes as she looked at each, studying them. When she had made contact with the white phoenix, it's eyes had a kind of reassurance about them. It was then that she knew that the pure white one had been looking for the girl, especially when it flew down to greet her.

The phoenix nuzzled Mai's hand and looked up at her with its captivating eyes before bending down to nuzzle the strange girl on the neck. Then, it looked up at its companions and Mai heard a soft melodic cry come from the white phoenix. When she looked up at the blue and green phoenix, it flew right at her and came to a stop in front of her face, floating softly. She absently reached a hand out to it without thinking. Her eyes widened when she saw its vibrant green eyes close and a tear fall from its eyes.

The tear floated into her outstretched palm and landed with a soft _plunk_ and green orbs danced around her and her phoenix. Her phoenix....it sounded so right. This phoenix was _hers_ and she felt a strange warmth on her shoulder. When she looked, she was surprised to see her phoenix there. It had flew on her shoulder when she was lost in her thoughts. She smiled up at it and it gave her a soft coo and nuzzled her cheek. Mai giggled softly and felt so lucky to have - that's right, she had to name it! _But what?_ she thought. She decided that she would have to put it up until after she got this girl to safety.

Mai looked down at the white phoenix and back to hers, then to the plum phoenix who had flew down to also greet her and the girl. Her phoenix flew off her shoulder and landed next to the plum one, who was next to the white one. They all bowed to her and then to the strange girl. She bowed back, although she didn't know why, she felt the need to. She looked the mystical birds over one last time before putting her gaze to the ragged limp girl before her feet. She looked worse for the wear, dirt clinging to her like a second skin, and her mask didn't look the best either. As Mai bent down to pick her up, the white phoenix stopped her with its beak. She gave a confused look and retracted her hand slowly, watching the phoenixes.

The three mythical birds each took a spot before the strange girl, making Mai move farther away before stopping to pick up her Nimbus. The white phoenix took a spot before the girl's head, and the plum and green ones took a spot on either side of her. Mai watched in amazement and something akin to awe as they each shed tears, letting them drip onto the stranger. Their pearly tears landed on each of her palms and wrists, and on her forehead and closed eyes, each glowing with healing powers.

The girl never woke though, it was like she was....she couldn't be! Mai was so sure she had heard that girl breath! She was sure of it! She looked worriedly at the phoenixes, and kneeled down next to the girl, leaning in to check her breathing. Her heartbeat slowed when she heard a regular patterned breathing, relief seeping through her veins. She stood, and spoke, as if the phoenixes could understand her.

" I need to take her to my father. He'll know what to do," she said waiting for some kind of sign to see if they agreed. Apparently they understood because they all attached their fine claws to the girl's miko clothing and lifted her up gently into the air. Mai followed suit and lead them out of the massive crater. She headed off toward her new home, occasionally looking back at the birds and the girl. Mai thought that they would've made a beautiful picture, the phoenixes and the stranger. The glowing mythical birds and the girl they held in their claws. She decided she would paint the image she had lodged in her mind, for it was a very magical sight indeed, even for her, a witch.

Yes, a witch.

She was transferring to Europe's best school for witchcraft and wizardry. She had moved from Mexico to the U.S in California and then to Japan for a year and now she and her father had moved here to Britain. She was born and raised in Mexico until her father's dragon keeping job had moved them all over the place. Her father, Omar Starr, had friends all over the world and had made friends with a fellow dragon keeper in Vietnam, Thien Nayahnkneyshoushumah (a/n its realllllllyy long! hehehe. My friend wanted her character's name to be absurdly long, so, heh, why the hell not?).

Luckily, he had a daughter who had become her best friend ever, Tao, who was also transferring to Hogwarts. They were both lucky that they were going into the same year, 6th year in fact.

Finally, Mai, the phoenixes, and the strange girl, had found their way back to Mai's house. Mai jumped off her Nimbus and yelled to her father to come out for an emergency.

Omar heard his daughter yell at him to come quickly, he went thinking his daughter had fallen in dragon dung again so he hurried out to the back patio/porch with a huge smirk.

" What's - OH SHIT!" he exclaimed when he spotted the phoenixes and the ragged unconscience girl.

Mai rolled her eyes at her father's outburst of profanity and said, " Dad! Language!"

Her father just looked at her like she was mad and asked what had happened. Mai explained how she had found the girl and the phoenixes, leaving out the part where she had her very own phoenix, her father's eyes bugging out the whole time.

" Here! I'll take her inside!" Omar said, taking the limp form of the girl in his arms, and carrying her in through the French doors. The phoenixes flew in to follow while Mai just stood there.

" Ummmmmmmm...", was all she could say before her father called her in.

" Yes?" she asked looking at her father expectantly.

Her father just sat there next to the girl who was lying on one of their sofas still not awake.

He was fiddling with his shirt looking up at her.

" Could you...maybe change her? Because I _really_ don't want to be seen as a hentai when she wakes up," he said.

Mai rolled her green eyes again and agreed while ushering her father out of the room to get her some pajamas for the stranger. She looked down at the mask, and wondered what was under the mask.

_Hmm..._she thought,_ Maybe she looks like Marilyn Monroe! She could make a lot of money in the Muggle world...or maybe she looks like- nah, too ugly! What if she looked like a water nymph?! That would be soooo cool! She would be reeeaaally pretty and we could go shopping and we could play pranks on other people, trip them into dragon dung, put fireworks in people's shoes! gasp starry eyes We could go meet cute wizards! And get dates! And go places together, gasp I could introduce her to Tao! OH! She's coming here anyway! Yes! That's right! We're going to go to go shopping together and she's really good at healing, even though she is really clumsy...sh'e smart too! Maybe she can figure out where this chick came from. Hmm...._Mai was thinking so hard she didn't see or hear her father come back holding a pair of p.j's with cows that went 'moo' on them.

" Hellooooooo in there! Maaaiiiii!" he said slowly while waving a hand in her face.

" HUH? OH! Hey Dad," She replied while taking the clothes. She reached for the front of the girl's front kimono, then paused, looking back at her father, who was standing there watching her movements.

When he didn't seem to get the message, she cleared her throat catching his attention.

Omar looked at her in confusion. She cleared her throat again, this time more forcefully.

He still didn't catch it.

She cleared her throat _again_ while jerking her head in a pointed fashion toward the girl she was tending to. Her father bolted and gave a startled start.

" OOOOOOOOHH! OH! OK! I get it now", he blabbed heading out the room before he popped his head back in through the door he was heading through," Oh, and your cousin Shigure( Shi- goo- re') is coming to visit!" With that he headed out the door.

_Ugh,_ Mai thought,_ Shigure? Just because he was mom's nephew, and just because she offered to let him live with us before she died, does _not _mean he has to! I can't believe I'm related to that hentai! But....still...I would have never met Yuki,_ she thought while smiling.

_Crap_

" Dad!" she screamed.

" Yea?" he said coming in with his hands over his eyes.

" Could you work your magic and give me a bowl of hot water? Please?"

" Sure! If you need anything, just holler!" he said while waving his wand, making a steaming bowl of water and a washcloth appear.

" Thanks!"

After her father left, she turned back to the girl and undressed the girl slowly. What she saw was not pleasant.

There were scars covering her body along with fresh cuts and dried blood. There was a range of colorful bruises as well. Mai swept her eyes over her stomach and gasped as she saw some of the cuts closing up right in front of her eyes. Then she remembered this girl was a miko, and mikos healed very fast as do demons. She took the rag from its bowl and gently cleaned the girl's body, while carefully cleaning the cuts and bruises.

When Mai finally reached the girl's mask, she paused and studied the elegant mask. Such mask would be worn to a masquerade, hiding the bearer's whole face from sight. It was a white, and what Mai thought, porcelain and was outlined with gold like the white phoenix's.

THE PHOENIXES!

Mai ran out of the living room and into her large kitchen, searching for her father. What she found.....was...slightly disturbing...Her father was seated at the dining table with a mug of hot cocoa, and was chatting with the phoenixes who were settled on the tabletop before him.

" Can you believe it? She wetted the bed until she was nine! I remember those days, she would come running to me in the night, her little pigtails flying, her Barbie (dont own barbie!) nightgown trailing around her, saying ' Daddy! Daddy! The tinkle-fairy came!' That was after her mother died, I had to take care of her all by myself," he said with a melancholy look on his face. " It was hard, being an only parent, especially being a dad with a daughter. I had a hard time taking her to the bathrooms at restaurants back then. Had to take her to the Men's' room, ah yes, I remember! I remember when she asked how babies were made! Yes! Her cousin, my nephew on my wife's side, told her all about it. She was scared out of her wits. That was when she started saying boys had cooties. She was always rough with the boys, especially Shigure, can't blame her on Gure (nickname for Shigure) though, he was always a pervert at heart. OH! I have got to tell you about the dragon incident! It was SO hilarious! You see, it was a cold summer, and the dragons were getting restless, so Mai, being the stubborn kid she is, she went to calm them down. But one of them decided to torch her! stifled laughter And she jumped out of the way just in time.....heheheheehehe...but....hahahahaha....she fell into.......HAHAHAAHAHAHAHA...DRAGON DUNG!" he choked while slapping his thigh. He was laughing so hard that there were tears in his eyes. " It took two weeks to get out the smell!" The phoenixes were looking at each other with the expression 'Is this guy crazy?'

Mai suddenly appeared behind her father and knocked him on the head with her fist.

" Ow! What was that for?" he asked rubbing the newly formed bump.

" For being an idiot! You always do this! Tell everyone my business! You might as well make your own talk show and author your own book!"

" Hm, now that's not a bad idea," he said thoughtfully, rubbing his chin but stopped as soon as Mai raised her fist again.

" Hehehe...Just kidding dear."

" Argh! Dad! I can't believe you! You do this to everyone! Tell them my business! First it's people, then it's the dragons, and now, it's a couple of birds!" she complained.

The phoenixes ruffled their feathers at being called a ird the way Mai did.

" No offense, you know what I mean," she added hastily.

The white phoenix cooed, and jerked it's head toward the entrance to the living room, reminding Mai of the girl she had tended to.

" Holy crap! The girl!" she shouted running back into the room.

" And no more stories!" she added.

...............................................:Back at the Dursleys':...............................................

Harry pulled his trunk and Hedwig's cage down the stairs, while Hedwig herself flew about over his head.

" Ready Harry?" she asked. His aunt and uncle still stood there with stupefied appearances.

" Ok, well let's get into the car," she said while motioning him outside.

" Car?" he asked with a confused expression.

" Oh, yes, I used your fireplace to tell Arthur to pick us up. He got to borrow one of the Ministry cars."

" Oh," was all Harry could say.

" Over here!" he heard Mr. Weasley say from inside the car, honking the horn. He got out to help Harry put his trunk in the trunk ( convenient, eh?). Mr. Weasley ushered him into the back seat and closed the door. He looked back at the Dursleys' who were still in their same spots by the door, and waved. Even though he didn't get a wave back, he didn't really care. When he left the Dursleys', it was like he was leaving that part of his life behind, like there was something waiting for him.

Or..._someone_ waiting for him.

Japanese terms

Hentai – Pervert/Perverseness

( A/N) Was this chappie long? I'm not used to writing Harry Potter fics. I had the idea for this fic for a lil while now. The original plot was drastically different from this one, so I decided to do this one instead. Please R&R! I only have few reviews and those are from me friends, cept one. Tis ok though! As long as I get to write this, I'm happy! Thanx for reading! I hope you enjoy! And sorry for the long wait!


	4. Many Meetings

A/N Hey everyone! Well I just wanted to say that I have changed Mai's father's name to Hideki. Sorry, I couldn't think of anything else! Well I just wanted to say thanx to my reviewers! OH AND I WANNA CHANGE THE NAME OF AKITO TO **YUKI! Sorry for posting this chapter so late! wouldnt let me! **

DISCLAIMER: I DONT OWN ANYTHING OF HARRY POTTER OR HARRY POTTER OR INUYASHA! I DONT WANNA GET SUED! IM BROKE AND IT WOULD SUCK BUTT IF I HAD GOTTEN SUED! I ALSO DON'T OWN FRUITS BASKET OR ITS CHARACTERS!

**Ch.4 Many Meetings**

Mai had been taking care of the strange girl for three days now, the same thing everyday. First, she would bathe the girl, then leave something to eat for her, only to come back and see the girl hadn't eaten anything or looked like she had moved an inch.

Mai sighed, today Shigure, her hentai cousin would be living with them. It had started off as a visit but then he had decided to live with them for about two or three months, leaving his home in Japan to his younger cousins and charge.

She was sitting in an armchair by the sofa where the girl was still lying, and was daydreaming. She wondered what her father's guests looked like, especially Harry Potter, the ' Boy Who Lived'. She didn't really care that he was coming because she would be seeing him at Hogwarts this year. She sighed for the millionth time until she heard a moan coming from the sofa. She tensed, stiffening in her chair like a deer caught in headlights. She turned in the direction of the moan and saw the heap of blankets move. She still sat there with that look on her face until she saw an eerie porcelain mask come from the blankets, rising slowly.

Mai herself slowly rose out of her chair and crept toward the mound of blankets. There didn't really seem to be a person lying under there, just a heap of blankets and a scary looking white mask. Mai crouched down next to the mound and peered at the girl. She came face to face with the object of her thoughts. She gazed into the bottomless slits of the masquerade mask. She jumped when she saw gray eyes snap open and peer back at her. She jumped so high that she fell on her bottom.

"Oof!"

"Still clumsy as always, eh, Mai?" asked a voice from the door.

She and the girl started at the interruption to see none other than Shigure.

Shigure had a mysterious aura about him. He had dark eyes, and black hair to match. Mai also noticed he still wore traditional kimonos, he rarely wore real clothes. Why did her pervertd, annoying, novelist cousin _have _to be here?

"Shut up, Shigure!" Mai exclaimed getting up from the floor while rubbing her sore bottom, not forgetting to give Shigure a dirty look.

"And I see your still as belligerent as always," he said walking toward the girl on the sofa.

"And are you still playing dress up? I thought you gave up on that years ago!" he said peering into the unblinking eyes of the masked girl. He tapped his finger on the mask as if testing its worth.

Mai smirked as she saw her cousin examine the girl closely, not knowing that there was indeed a person wearing the mask.

"This is a very beautiful piece of work! It's authentic and original! Wherever did your father find such a thing?" he asked.

"_I_ found her in the backyard," she replied trying to see if he could figure out that he was examining a girl. The masked girl still just sat there as if she were Petrified, not moving her body or eyes.

"Her? Ah, yes, masks like these were often worn by women way back when there were balls and masquerades. Of course, they were never really held in Japan, only here in England," he said still examining. He stared into the gray eyes of the girl, and was mesmerized by the beautiful shade of gray they were.

"These eyes," he whispered gazing almost lovingly into her eyes," they hold so much emotion, so much wisdom, yet are very youthful. They are beautiful."

The girl chose at that moment to blink her eyes because of the wind of his breath. Shigure yelped and jumped, almost mimicking Mai's earlier actions.

"Now who's the clumsy one, Gure?" Mai teased.

"That- it- did- it- what-?" he sputtered pointing at the mask.

The strange girl didn't move for a moment until a moment after Shigure pointed. She stood up to her full height, around 5"4, with the blankets wrapped around her.

"That mask is really a girl, Shigure. You know, for a twenty-seven year old man, you sure act like you're my age," Mai commented looking at her nails. She looked at the strange girl to see her still staring at her.

"Oh! I am so sorry! I am Mai Starr, I took care of you while you were unconscious. This is my hentai cousin, Shigure," Mai added jutting her thumb out at Shigure who was currently residing on the floor. The girl did something none of them ever thought her to do, she bowed. They gaped at her before Mai remembered that this girl was a miko, or probably just a shrine maiden from Japan. Mai bowed back and she nudged Shigure with her foot to do the same.

"I am very sorry I haven't properly introduced myself! I am Shigure Sohma," he said bowing back. "Are you from Japan?" he asked tentatively.

The girl just stared at him before she hesitantly nodded her head.

"What are you doing here? I just found you in my backyard unconscious and injured! Don't you have any family anywhere? Anyone we can contact?" Mai asked.

The girl's eyes took on a sorrowful look as she stared at the two cousins.

She looked down and softly shrugged her shoulders. Mai looked confused for a moment before she slowly started to understand.

"Y-you mean...you don't know? Or you don't know where they are?" Mai wondered.

The girl began to use sign language, her hands moving furiously in front of her before she suddenly stopped, her eyes searching her hands as if they had some visible disease. Her eyes held innocent confusion as she looked helplessly back at the others.

Luckily, Mai had taken Sign Language class for a year before quitting. She had been able to figure out some signs.

"You can't...remember?" Mai deduced after a minute.

The girl brightened and looked eagerly up at Mai, nodding her head furiously before signing something else.

"You can't talk?" Mai asked, the girl shook her head no. The whole time Shigure was giving the girl a calculating look.

"Do you remember anything? Anything at all? Any faces, places, anything?" Shigure asked her. The girl appeared to be thinking hard. After a couple of moments, she slowly nodded her head.

Then she began to sign slowly.

"She says...she remembers...gold, no, amber, no, wait, gold-amber...and...silver," Mai translated. "She says she also remembers the moon, a dark moon and shadows...of a man…sometimes a little girl." After going over it all in her head, Mai felt pity for the girl. She wondered how lonely she must have been before they met her.

Shigure was just standing there thoughtfully, his finger to his chin.

"You are from Japan?" Shigure asked again. The girl signed to Mai.

"She thinks so."

"Do you remember which part?" he asked looking at her.

The girl shook her head no and signed 'Sorry'.

Mai translated and Shigure just waved it aside.

"It's not your fault. You must have hit your head somewhere and the blow must've given you amnesia. Don't worry though, I'm sure you will get your memories though. In the meantime," he said slyly eyeing her," if you are willing, we can create some _new_ memories." He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively while he inched closer to her. "If you take off that mask, I could show you some moves. They are quite enjoyable." He gripped her tiny hands in his.

The whole while, Mai's eye was twitching, apparently so was the girl's. Mai was going to hit her hentai cousin over the head before someone beat her to it.

_SLAP_

The noise echoed through the large chateau.

Mai blinked. Had she just done that? She looked down at her own hands before realizing that it wasn't she who had made the blow to Shigure's skull, but the stranger.

_STRANGER P.O.V._

_When the one known as Shigure had asked of me to do those things, I couldn't help but get angry. But...I also couldn't help the feeling that this had happened before! My hand just slapped him on reflex! It was really an accident. When my hand made contact with his face, I got some kind of vision of a man dressed in what looked to be robes. His handsome face appeared in my mind as I pictured him, his black hair with a little rat tail, a smile that scared me a little, and a monk's staff...he must have been a monk! But...they haven't existed in centuries! At least...I think they did. Still, that man in a monk outfit kept popping into my head, and his words to me...what were they? Oh yes, they were... "Will you bear my child?" Their words were so alike, yet the monk had had...what do you call it...? _

_Wandering hands? _

_Yes, wandering hands. _

_They would often 'slip' or had often spotted a piece of thread on the back of my miko robes...miko robes? Am I..? No, they haven't existed for centuries. I must have borrowed them from someone. In Japan maybe? Where am I? Shigure said England...but...that far from home! Home...Where is home? Do I have a family waiting for me? Why can't I remember? Why is it that I only remember silver and gold? What is it about those colors that draw me to them? And a little girl...was she important to me? Did I know her well? And the man? Who are these people? I need answers! Why can't I remember!_

NORMAL P.O.V

Mai and Shigure watched as the girl looked shocked, slowly lowering her hand and signing an apology. They saw her eyes giving off a distant look as she looked down at the floor before closing her eyes as if seeing something in her mind. She and Shigure leaned in closer and peered at her closely. Her eyes quickly snapped back open, scaring the daylights out of the cousins. They both jumped, Mai holding a hand over her beating heart while Shigure rubbed the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes.

"Would you stop doing that?" Shigure said meekly.

The girl looked at them apologetically before going to Shigure and bowed furiously, her hands signing apologies in-between.

Shigure chuckled and said, "It's ok, you just worried us there."

The girl took on a sad look and kept apologizing and bowing until Shigure had to grip her by her shoulders to make her stop.

At that exact moment, Mai's father, Hideki, had come running in, panting. He saw Shigure gripping his guest by the shoulders and immediately went forward.

"I see you still can't keep your hands to yourself you pervert," Hideki accused.

"Huh? Oh! No! It's not like that!" Shigure said realizing his position and taking a step back.

"Are you sure? I can't leave you alone for one minute before you go all perverted on me," Hideki said moving forward.

"I heard thuds coming from in here, and came rushing as soon as I could. What happened?" he asked.

Mai and Shigure looked at each other before putting their gazes upon the girl, whose name they had yet to learn. She stepped forward towards Hideki and bowed to him. He graciously bowed back with a smile and introduced himself.

"Hello there! I am Hideki, Mai's father and you are...?"

The girl turned to Mai and signed ' I do not know'.

Mai translated when her father spoke.

"Oooh! I know! Let's play a guessing game! I wanna go first! Pick me! Pick me!" he said jumping up and down. The others sweatdropped. ( I am putting sweatdrops in! It's kinda anime - ish so ya no)

Mai sighed, "Fine, Dad, you go." She gave in because she knew her father would never shut up if she didn't. She rolled her eyes as he jumped up and down in utmost joy.

"Okay, I am going to say a name and if it sounds familiar, I want you to sign to Mai," he said. He took on a serious face and said, " Yuki?"

The girl shook her head. "I doubt she'll have the same name as my _male_ cousin, Hideki," Shigure said dryly.

"Could be, you never know. Yuki could be both a girl and a boy's name."

"But still, the chances?"

Hideki pouted.

He thought again for a moment before snapping his fingers again.

"Sarah?" he nearly screamed out. The girl covered her ears before signing 'no'.

"Dad, she's Japanese, not American!" Mai informed him. The girl had signed something to Mai and she asked," You mean...you're not full Japanese?...Oh, you're half Japanese and half...Hispanic? Really? Me too!"

" Interesting, what type of Hispanic are you?" Shigure asked. The girl signed ' I don't know' and 'sorry'.

"No worries, now, hm...Thao!" Hideki screamed again looking over his daughter's shoulder.

The girl shook her head 'no' and Mai stared at her father wondering why he was staring back at her wide-eyed.

"How about Ai?" came a voice behind Mai. They all turned to see Mai's long time best friend, and her parents.

"Thao!" Mai screamed as she tackled her friend in a huge hug. They both laughed and talked a mile a minute as Thao's parents stood there smiling. Mai hadn't seen her friend in a whole year, and that was a long time in her book.

No one noticed the miko signing frantically, that is, everyone except Shigure.

"Does it sound familiar?" he asked her.

She made a so-so hand movement and motioned for him to guess. He actually took the time to look her over before asking :

"Setsuna?" He sighed slightly when she shook her head 'no'.

The Nayahnkneyshoushumahs' and the Starrs looked at Shigure wide-eyed with amazement.

"What?" he asked feeling slightly uncomfortable.

" Y-you...you..." stuttered Thao ( I am putting an 'h' in Thao's name! sorry for changing a lot of things!)

"I what?" he asked getting irritated by the looks they were giving him, especially Mai.

"You didn't even try anything!" said Mai pointing at Shigure.

"Huh?"

"We left you all alone and you didn't try anything!"

When he looked even more confused, Thao's mother Hoa, (pronounced like 'Wah' just in case ya dont no) spoke up.

"They mean you didn't try anything perverted."

"Really now? Well if I may say so Mrs. N, you are looking pretty good for a woman of you're age. Would you mind letting me escort you to the kitchen and helping you to some tea?" Shigure asked with a sly smile and walking up to her while he said this.

"Looks like I spoke too soon," she commented dryly.

"Stop hitting on my mom, Shigure!" said an irritated Thao. She stood about the same height as the masked girl, and had choppy brown hair, and red highlights. She had a pair of piercing amethyst eyes, which people often mistook for contacts until she told them they were real. Hoa said that she was unique and should be proud that her eye color wasn't the same as everyone else's, and she was, it was just that some people thought something had gone wrong at her birth, and made fun of her for it. She would just glare at them, her usually sweet appearance going sour, and scaring them away. She never liked being teased, so she rarely ever did it, except to Shigure and everyone she was close to.

Shigure was a pervert, a funny, amusing hentai. He could make her laugh even in the most dismal of situations, he could even lift Mai's spirit. But that was the only redeeming quality he had. His perverseness had corrupted everything else. She found it hard to believe he was a writer, but then, not so surprised when she found out what kind of books he wrote. You see, Shigure is a pervert at heart, and if you give a pervert a pencil and some paper, it's only natural that he write perverted things, right? Well, that's Shigure for you, the hentai author and high school girl loving cousin from Japan. Mai had informed Thao that she also had another cousin, Ayame, who was just like Shigure, only worse. Thao shuddered at the thought. Ayame was charming, she knew, she met him once, and he was sly and witty, yet amusing and perverted, that must be why he and Shigure got along so well. Ayame, as she was told, owns a shop that sells...nurses and maids clothes...and..._romance_. She shuddered yet again. He owned a cosplay shop, where he and his assistant would sell 'romance' to men. Thao thought that Mai's whole family was weird, but she didn't care, who would want to be normal anyway, right? ( I always say that! There's no such thing as normal! hehe)

"I'm only kidding, Thao! What, are you jealous?" he asked with a smirk playing on his face.

Thao blushed. A while back, Mai had asked her about Shigure while she was too busy admiring a really hot guy.

_FLASHBACK_

_Thao and Mai had just come back from meeting Shigure and had gone shopping in Tokyo. They didn't mind Muggles, they really did have cool styles and clothes and such. Mai was more sporty and a little punky, while Thao was the opposite. She loved pink, green, and orange and often dressed girlie, not preppy, she wasn't too fond of preppy- ness_ _because of past experiences. The preps were the ones who always made fun of her and teased her because they were jealous of her eyes color and her style. Well, anyway, she was walking along, bags in hand, Mai in tow, and hadn't been paying attention to where she was going, until she bumped into somebody._

"_Excuse me, sorry, I wasn't watching where I was going," Thao said bowing and speaking Japanese. She could speak their language fluently, even though she was Vietnamese. That's part of life when you are the daughter of a dragon keeper._

"_No worries, miss. It was my fault, I wasn't watching where I was going," the boy apologized. Thao had finally looked up and saw a really hot guy. She blushed when she noticed she was staring._

"_No, it's my fault, really. My mind ran away from me while I was walking," she said avoiding his eyes. He smiled and complimented her eyes, saying how beautiful they were, which didn't help because she was blushing madly now. She was so embarrassed and angry with herself. She vowed she would never go for the opposite sex or even consider courting or looking at a guy...but, he was an exception. _

"_Well, my name is Ryotaru, nice to meet you...?" he looked at her expectantly. _( Name editted/changed, whatever you wanna call it, on April 20th. Ha,now Thao can't kill me.)

"_Oh! Thao, my name is Thao", she replied looking up at him. He was about a head taller than her with dark hair, and he really was a sight. _

"_Well, Thao, when you find your mind, gimme a call!" he said kissing her hand, bowing, and then walking off._

_She whipped around and said to his retreating back, "But I don't have your-!" _

_She felt something in her hand and looked down. A small piece of paper was clutched in it. She opened it and smiled when she saw what it was:_

_Ryotaru_

_367- 729- 3695_

_She looked once again in the direction Ryotaru had gone but he had disappeared. She turned her gaze back on the paper in her hand before closing her palm and turning slowly around, Ryotaru's face in her mind, his smile, but what made her smile even more, was his eyes. _

_His beautiful..._

_...amethyst ..._

_...eyes._

_Mai had stood there watching this interaction with a smirk on her face. Then she spoke, eyeing her fingernails casually. She knew Thao would say something she would regret, that's why it was so fun catching her in situations like this._

"_So, what do you think of my cousin, Shigure?" _

_Thao was still looking toward the spotRyotaru had been, her eyes distant, as she thought about him._

"_He was...amazing."_

_END FLASHBACK_

"I was talking about a guy I bumped into! Not you!" Thao shouted, the blush still residing on her cheeks. Shigure smirked, satisfied that he had gotten a rise out of her. It was so amusing to him when he got them all riled and embarrassed.

"Guy? What guy?" Thao's father,Thien, said. Thao muttered a 'crap' and thought of a quick answer. Her father was so overprotective of her, especially of guys. He never let her talk to guys, not that she wanted to, she just did it to see her father get all protective. It really was quite amusing. She remembered when she had visited Shigure's family, who were also Mai's a little bit. Most of the family members were men, a handful of them her age. Imagine the look on her father's face when she smiled and was introduced to the handsome Yuki Sohma. Ha, that was hilarious! Her father told Yuki off for checking her out (which he certainly was not) and taking advantage of her (which he wasn't doing either). Yuki had politely insisted he wasn't (he is oh so polite and cute! Not for Thao though!) and that was when she met Ayame, pervert in disguise.

"No one!" Thao replied nervously waving her hands.

"Leave her alone, Thien!" Hoa said slapping her husband's arm lightly. " Personally, I think it's quite cute that she met someone. What's his name? How did you meet him? Is he cute?"

Thao sweatdropped and told her mother (with her father intently following along) the whole story except the part where she thought he was hot. She definitely didn't want to bring that up.

Hoa had stars in her eyes as her daughter relayed the story back to her and clasped her hands to her chest.

"That is soooo cute!" her mother squealed. The masked girl's eyes looked fairly amused at this.

"You didn't answer my last question!" Hoa pointed out, everyone noticed Thao blushing madly.

" W-well...uh..um- ehehehehe..what was the question again?" she said meekly, hoping her mother wouldn't remember.

Just before her mother could answer, the girl the cut in, bowing and signing to Thao and Hoa.

"She says would you like to come with her to make you some tea and afterwards, maybe Mai- I mean I, could show you two around?" Mai translated. ( I do that to! I talk about myself in third person! hehe! had to put that in)

Thao looked thoroughly relieved and gave the girl an appreciative look, she only got a wink in return. The girl then signed that she would make tea for the rest of them and that they should relax while she brought it in. When Mai translated to them, Hoa, and Hideki protested. But Mai explained that the girl was the guest and that it would be her honor to serve them tea. After much arguing, the adults finally realized it was no use in arguing, the girl was indeed stubborn and wouldn't stop until she got her way, much like Hideki.

:In the kitchen:

"Thanks for saving me in there! I am forever in your debt," Thao said gratefully to the girl who just waved it off. She signed something to Mai and Mai directed her to a cabinet under the stove. Thao watched as she pulled out a pot and some tea leaves. She was indeed preparing tea, and a lot of it. Oh, Shigure was going to love this girl! (Lets just say he's obsessed with tea)

"So, how old are you, do you remember?" Thao asked trying to bring up a conversation. The girl thought a moment, a finger to the chin of her mask and then hesitantly held up ten fingers and then six more. She signed to Mai.

"She said she doesn't really remember, but she might be sixteen or seventeen," Mai translated with a thoughtful look on her face before jumping up and down screaming, "You're our age! This is so cool! We could do a whole bunch together! Oh my gosh! We should go to this store I saw when I first came here! Then we could go to Hot Topic(dont own it! is there even a Hot Topic in England? There better be!) and get you some new clothes! And some kick ass jewelry!" She had a dreamy look on her face.

"Yea! Do they have a Forever 21 here? Let's take her there! Oh! And let's go to a cute little cafe afterwards!" Thao said excitement shining in her amethyst eyes. "Oh my gosh! We have to go to Victoria's Secret!" ( dont own it! but they do have cute panties there! lol)At the mention of Victoria's Secret, Shigure popped in and asked, "Are you ladies going shopping?"

"Yes, we are!" said Mai with a smug look on her face.

Shigure looked very pleased, he had a sly smile on his face, which happened to scare the three girls.

"You don't mind if with, do you?" Shigure asked.

Thao and Mai knew where this was going.

"Oh no! No, no, no, no, no!" Mai said pointing her finger at him.

"Why not?" he whined.

" Because, all you'll be doing is looking at highschool girls!" Thao said.

Shigure mockingly gasped. "However could you think that of me!" he said appalled at the mere correct suggestion. Mai and Thao just rolled their eyes at him.

"You believe me right?" he pleaded, clasping the masked girl's hands and smiling at her. She looked confused and kept eyeing his hands on hers and his smile. She just stood there, looking at Shigure.

"I'll be your bodyguard! I'll protect you!" he said, forgetting that in the Feudal days, if you said that to a girl, that means you are kind of like their boyfriend. Hey, it wasn't his fault that he forgot, it was the thought of British highschool girls, and that was a long time ago! She wouldn't care, it wasn't like she was from the Feudal Era!

The girl still stood there dumbly, then she nodded slowly.

"_Yes!_" Shigure shouted happily. He then turned back to the two horrified girls behind him. "Ha! She's taking me with her!" With that, he happily walked back to the adults for some chit-chat.

" Great! Now Shigure's coming! Just what we need! An old pervert to accompany us while he scours for highschool girls!" Mai said disgustedly.

"I heard that!" Shigure's voice floated in while they heard the other parents snicker. "But it's true!" they heard one of the parents say and then an 'I am not old!'

The girl signed an 'I'm sorry' to them.

They sighed and said it was ok. The kettle started to whistle and she took out six mugs and poured in the tea along with some other herbs and such she had found.

When she put them all on mugs and led the way out of the kitchen, they came to see the adults seated on pouf pillows at the low table. Hideki had arranged for the house to have an Asian/Hispanic vibe to it, and that was just what it had.

The girl made Thao and Mai sit on a pouf of their own and served them all tea. When Hoa noticed that she didn't have a mug of her own (the girl), she asked about it. But the girl merely signed that she didn't want any.

Shigure tasted his tea and immediately fell in love with it. This girl made a very tasty Japanese tea, with her own additions. So far, he tasted mint, ginger, and something else he didn't recognize. He smiled pervertedly when he thought of the girl serving him tea all the time...wearing a little maid's uniform, prancing around his house asking him if- "OW!" Someone had hit him on the back of his head, causing him to almost spill his tea. He looked around glared at Thao.

"It wasn't me!" she exclaimed putting her hands up defensively. He turned sharply to glare at Mai who giggled and pointed to her father, who pointed to Thao's father, (sigh) who pointed to his wife, who hit his arm and then pointed to the masked girl who was innocently holding a pouf. He glared at her questionably. She just held up the pouf and accusingly pointed at Mai. Mai burst out laughing, and choked, "You had that perverted smile on your face! I couldn't help it! I had to teach her to disrupt your thoughts before they became your hentai fantasies!" Everyone laughed at this, save for Shigure and the girl. When the laughter died down, Hideki announced something.

" Everyone, today we are having some more guests. From the Order." he said pointedly to Thien who nodded.

" Didn't you tell us this already?" Mai asked confusedly.

" Yes, but I didn't tell you they were staying here for the rest of the summer, did I?"

Mai groaned. She hated playing hostess and stuff. Hoa, seeing this with a knowing look said happily, "I'll show them around the place! When are they coming?" She didn't know anything about the Order, only that her husband and friend had joined and that it was to capture an evil wizard. Hoa was born from a Muggle family in Vietnam, and had gotten a letter to go to the prestigious school there, where she met her lovable husband, Thien. She knew he would be special to her when she first laid eyes on him. When they got out of school, Thien became a dragon keeper, a very well paid job and houses, flats, and a chateau all over the world. Together they had three children, the oldest two, a girl, and the next a boy, who were both out of school and working in the wizarding world.

" They'll be here later today, in fact, one of the newly joined should be here right now," Hideki said looking at his watch.

Hoa clapped her hands happily and hurriedly grabbed the masked girl's hand, dragging her to the kitchen muttering something about 'hungry guests' and 'food, a lot of food and sweets'. Thao groaned as she recognized her mother's antics. Her mother loved feeding people and cooking a lot of food. It was kind of a habit, like Shigure's pervertedness, for example.

" Great, just like mom. Watch her cook a whole buffet and stuff our guests so they'll look like giant hippos." Thao said dryly.

Mai grinned when she saw Hoa run off talking about food. She did cook very well. Hoa was kind of like a mother to Mai, since her own mother was dead, she never knew what it was to have one. Sometimes Mai thought that Thao took her mother for granted, but then she remembered Thao had always had a mother, and so it was only natural to do so. She had only a few of her memories of her mother, and some pictures, but it just wasn't the same. She loved her father, yes, but she had always wanted a mom, even it was only for a minute. She just wanted to know how it felt, to have her mom to just be there, to fuss over her, force her to eat her cooking, take her shopping, have her embarrass her! All she wanted was her mom to come back so they could be a happy family. She sometimes caught her father thinking about her mother. She knew he missed her more than she did, and it hurt her to think that they only had each other in this world. She vaugly remembered when she was really little, when her mother was still alive, she had taken her to the Muggle zoo because Mai had always wanted to meet a hippo. Her mother had taken her to see the hippos and all the other animals, and Mai claimed that her favorite were the hippos and the snakes. That was all she remembered of her mother, that and some memories, as said before.

Hideki studied his daughter's face carefully and knew that she was thinking about her mom, not knowing that Thao, Shigure, and Thien knew it too. Thien quietly excused himself, muttering something about getting something in the kitchen and Shigure had retreated to his room. Thao just stood there looking helpless as she remembered the time Mai told her about her mother, how she only had a few memories, how she wishes she her mom wasn't dead. Thao had comforted her, but that was all she could do, that and tell her everything would be okay.

Hideki also remembered the day his wife took Mai to the zoo. They had come home, Mai very excited from seeing her favorite animals, and telling him all about how some man dropped his phone into the gorilla cage, how she had fed the baby goats and how her mother had bought her ice cream. He smiled at his daughter who was jumping up and down chanting something about 'happy hippos' and childish things and such.

"Hey, Dad?" Mai asked tentatively, knowing her father was thinking of her mom.

He quickly snapped back to life.

"Huh?"

"We're going shopping today, to get...what's her name some new clothes and stuff...I was wondering if we could go, and maybe ...take her to the zoo, you know, to see the animals?" she asked. She didn't know why she wanted to take the girl to the zoo, but then she did. She didn't want the girl to think she was alone here, she had her, and of course Thao. But she knew what it was like to feel alone even with so much love around you. She didn't want her new friend to feel that way, it was a horrible feeling. She felt her father's eyes upon her and it made her sad to know he felt the same way for her.

She hated asking her father for money. It fekt like she was leeching off of him, although she knew that he was supposed to support her, but it still felt wrong.

" Need money?" he asked with a knowing smile.

" Yeah," she said.

She and Thao watched as he dug in his pocket to pull out his wallet. He had various types of money in there. He paused and looked at them all, looking slightly confused. Then he just hastily shoved the wallet into her hands.

" Here, just take it all. I really don't know the money system here," he said while sweatdropping a bit and chuckling nervously.

" Really? Thank you so much Dad!" Mai said hugging her father and Thao did as well. As they rushed to get their new friend, Hideki stopped them.

" And Mai?" he asked, "Don't forget to show her the snakes and the hippos."

She replied with a nod and a smile then ran into the enormous kitchen, dragging Thao behind her.

.:In the Kitchen:.

Tantalizing aromas tickled their noses as Thao and Mai made their way into the kitchen. Their eyes wide and jaws slack.

There were turkeys and corn on the table along with some Japanese foods as well as Vietnamese. The counter was loaded with all different kinds of food. They saw Hoa supervising the new girl cutting vegetables and mixing ingredients inside a bowl. Since the girl didn't have a wand, Hoa decided to teach her the old - fashioned way, without magic. Well, actually Hoa did magically heat and cook the turkey and sweets and cookies, and, well, you get the idea.

Thao gaped at her mother who was happily humming and directing the girl what to do and what ingredients to put, etc. When she saw the girls she smiled and greeted them happily.

" What's all this for? It looks like you're going to feed the whole Ministry!" exclaimed Thao. Mai was drooling at the sight of a towering, wonderfully designed cake on the table, with lettering on it, that had most likely something close to 'Welcome' on it. Hoa was very creative when it came to food.

"So what if I am?" said Hoa airily looking up at the ceiling.

"Mom! It's so much! I mean, we _are_ only having at least another family and a couple people here," Thao reasoned. Thao never really ate all that much (huh, michirure, you sound a lot like your character!) and it was odd compared to how much Hoa cooks.

" Don't worry about it! So, what do ya need?" Hoa asked, elbows leaning on the counter top.

"We need our friend. We are going SHOPPING!" Mai said enthusiastically.

When the girl asked what they were shopping for, Mai and Thao grinned widely at her then to each other before simply saying 'clothes' , still grinning like maniacs.

Hoa knew what that meant and she only wished the new found girl good luck as her biological and unbiological daughter grabbed both her hands and rushed out the door, most likely hopping into a Mercedes - Benz ( nope, dont own that! duh), with Shigure rushing out quickly behind them. A motor starting confirmed her suspicions. A screeching of tires confirmed that it was indeed Mai driving. She looked out the window in the kitchen and watched as the car sped out of sight, smiling to herself. She wiped a tear out of her eye.

They were growing up so fast.

.:Scene Change:.

Harry had fallen asleep during the car ride and had been violently shaken awake. He awoke to a pair of brown eyes and bushy hair. He blinked the sleep away and sluggishly sat up.

" Hermione? What are you doing here?" he asked taking his glasses off and wiping them on his shirt.

"Harry! Good to see you! Awake as well!" she said brightly and hopping out of the empty vehicle.

"Come on! We have to get inside, the others are waiting," she said hurriedly.

Harry got out, closed the door, and took in his surroundings and realized he was not at the Weasleys', but at a huge chateau somewhere in the country. He looked around and saw moving minuscule dots in the distance and smoke as well. Harry thought those dots looked oddly familiar.

"What are those? Where are we?" Harry asked bemused.

"We're at a dragon keeper's home. He just joined the Order and so did one of his friends. They are letting Dumbledore have the meetings for the Order at their houses because Dumbledore couldn't get a suitable place for headquarters. This place is massive though!" Hermione filled in for Harry.

"Yeah, it looks like it could be a quarter of a size of Hogwarts!" Harry exclaimed as Hermione led the way through the tall front door and into a huge sitting room. They made their way past a living room and into a huge kitchen where he was greeted by the whole Weasley family, a Hispanic looking man, and Vietnamese man and his wife.

"Harry! Good to see you again!"

"Harry, how are you?"

"Did you sleep well?"

"Did you see our new product?"

"Harry, I would like you to meet Hideki Starr, he is a new recruit and has offered his home to us!" Mr. Weasley said pushing him forward to meet the Hispanic man. Harry offered his hand and said 'hello, nice to meet you'.

"So! I finally meet the great Harry Potter, eh?" Hideki said smiling warmly and shaking Harry's hand.

"I'm not so sure about 'great'", Harry replied smiling back.

"Make yourself at home! Sorry, but my daughter isn't here to meet you now, she and my nephew are apparently showing my other guests around the city. I'd like you to meet my friend Thien Nayahnkneyshoushumah and his wife, Hoa," Hideki said stepping aside while the Vietnamese man and his wife came forward.

" Hello, nice to meet you," said Thien shaking Harry's hand and introducing himself.

" Hi, Mr..." Harry trailed off, unable to pronounce the man's last name properly. He felt a hint of heat as the man smiled, laughter shining in his dark eyes.

" Just call me Mr. N, everyone else does. It's okay, a lot of people don't know how to pronounce it. It happens to come with having an absurdly long surname."

It was time to meet his wife. She gave him a warm look and went forward to - what he thought - shake his hand. But she surprised him with a warm embrace.

" I'm Hoa, Thien's wife. I apologize for my daughter, Thao. She went along with Hideki's daughter, Mai, and his nephew, Shigure, with another of our new guests," she said apologetically.

" Oh, no need to apologize. Nice to meet you." Harry said politely. He liked Hoa, she was very nice and had a maternal aura about her. Much like Mrs. Weasley.

At that moment, another woman stepped forward. She had fiery red hair, and bright green eyes that rivaled his own. He was faintly reminded of his mother, for she too had red hair and green eyes. She took his hand and smiled.

" Very nice to meet you, Harry. My name is Ayame Shirokami, I am also in the Order. I work at the Ministry," she added. ( I know! Two Ayame's! One is a guy, barely related to Mai, but cousin to Shigure. One, a female who works in the Ministry. She plays an important role, I'll tell you that much. Oh...you'll be seeing her more often at Hogwarts! hint hint)

" Nice to meet you," Harry said. After this introduction, Hoa made an announcement.

" I have made dinner for us all, with the help of a lovely guest who could not be here at the moment. Please join us in the dining room."

At that moment, Harry, Hermione, Ron, Fred, George, Mr. Weasley, Ginny, Bill, Charlie, Hideki, and Thien's stomachs all growled.

Silence.

Everyone burst into laughter as they all headed into the dining room, owls, and Crookshanks in tow.

( the phoenixes are out or hiding, pick one!)

(A/N) Sorry for the long wait! So much work and laziness got involved. I hate it when authors don't update, which is why I am going to try to more often. Well, was it long? Next chappie is going to take place with the trio of girls shopping with THE PERVERT Shigure. Sorry if it seems like I'm centering around the girls a lot, I just want you to get a general idea of how life is for them. I know I didnt mention a lot with our other important trio, Harry, Hermione, and Ron. I really dont know the pairings...I saw a lot of Hermione and Draco pairings. I never really read HP fics that much. I've only read the books and seen the movies, so I think that Her/Ron is the most possible for my fic. I dunno if I should bring Cho into Harry's life again. Should I?

PLEASE READ AND REVIEW! THE MORE YOU R&R THE FASTER I UPDATE!


	5. Reminiscent

(A/N) Hey everyone! I'll introduce some new things for our other main trio, Harry, Hermione, and Ron. I know I haven't been writing so much about them, but I will, I just wanted to introduce my other characters and their viewpoints and probs.

**Oh, yea…um…well, Ayame's cat has had its named changed from George to Fred.**

Disclaimer: Why do we have to write these? They know we don't own them! Oh, and just in case, I DO NOT OWN HARRY POTTER OR ANYTHING RELATED! NOR DO I OWN THE CAST OR ANYTHING RELATED TO INUYASHA! I do own, however, my characters, though!

**FROM NOW ON, THIS DISCLAIMER WILL GO FOR ALL FUTURE CHAPTERS! Hah! So now I don't have to write anymore!**

"People's voices"

_People's thoughts_

**Chapter 5**

.:In the Dining Room:.

Harry had never seen so much food in his life! There were some dishes he recognized, but the rest he had no clue what they were. As if reading his mind, Hoa explained.

" Some dishes, I'm not sure you'll recognize, but they are Vietnamese and Japanese. I've even included some Mexican, although I'm not very sure if they're good. I haven't really had any practice."

" I'm sure they're just as good as when my wife made them," Hideki said smiling warmly. Hoa beamed.

" Come on now, don't be shy, sit down and eat!" Hoa said ushering them into their chairs. The men helped the women into their chairs, like the gentlemen they were. When everyone was settled, the food was passed around with much clatter and chatter. (hehehe, it rhymed)

After a while, everyone got to get comfortable with each other.

" So, Ayame, what do you do at the Ministry?" asked Fred interestedly. Everyone looked fairly interested as well. Hideki and Thien knew what she did, but didn't get enough out of her to satisfy their curiosity.

Ayame looked apprehensive for a moment before answering.

" Well, I…" she started, trying to pick the right words as to not give away anything, " I'm a guard. Something of an Auror who guards important information and…weapons."

" Wow," said Bill and Ron. Everyone was clearly impressed, especially Bill. When George gave him a look that clearly said, 'I thought you were dating Fleur!', he just shrugged it off. After all Ayame was very pretty, and when in the presence of a pretty lady, none of the Weasley men could help themselves. At least, Mr.Weasley, Bill, Charlie, and Ron couldn't. Especially not Ron, he turned to mush.

" So were you there when that weapon had gotten stolen a couple weeks ago?" asked Hermione.

Ayame looked troubled.

" Yes, I was on watch that night. But I can't give you any details, it is forbidden."

Harry felt disappointed. He really wanted to know just how Voldemort did it. Getting into the Ministry of Magic filled with Aurors was a hard thing to do, especially if you're the most wanted wizard of all time. As if reading his mind, Hermione asked the very question that tugged mercilessly at his mind.

"Well, we think that someone in the Ministry helped him in, and he got in when everyone was sleeping. Kingsley is still looking in on that one," came Ayame's helpful reply.

Everyone kept eating as Hermione and Ginny wanted to learn more about Vietnam. Bill became surprisingly interested and Charlie talked about dragons with Thien and Hideki. When Fred questioned the absence of the other Aurors, Tonks, Kingsley, and Mad Eye, Ayame told him they were called to duty.

" So, why did you join the Order?" Ron asked Ayame. Harry felt slightly sympathetic towards her because she was being bombarded with questions, but then again he wanted to satisfy the lack of knowledge he had as well.

Ayame was silent for a moment and then answered, " I am bound by a promise, to help another and capture the dark wizard you know of as Voldemort."

The Weasleys' flinched when they heard Voldemort's name, Hermione slightly winced, still trying to get used to the idea of hearing his name, and the new members just ignored it. Seems they weren't bothered by it at all.

" Who did you promise?" asked Fred. Mrs. Weasley snapped at him for getting to nosey. Ayame just laughed and waved it aside.

" An old friend. A very special old friend," she said with a distant look in her eyes.

" An old boyfriend?" Bill asked with suspicion, suddenly becoming interested…hmmm, wonder why…

" No, a girl. A young girl with the purest heart I ever knew of."

" What's she like?" asked Ginny asked putting her spoon down to out all of her attention on Ayame. Ayame still had that dreamy look on her face. She softly laughed as she reminisced. (no, she's not a lesbian!)

" She never hesitated to help someone who was in need, and did everything in her power to help. She…she was, very special. She was stubborn yet very sweet. I remember when we would get in trouble, she would always find a way out because no one where she lived would trust a de- … deranged girl. I swear that girl could sweet talk the devil if she tried. She was…very kind, very forgiving, and yet she was one of those people who could hold a grudge forever," Ayame snorted.

"Even though she came from a very bad past, she always smiled and never let it bring her down, although sometimes I could see the sadness and loneliness in her eyes. I promised her… that I would never let anything happen to her, that I would make sure she would live to be the happiest girl in the world. She laughed at me and said she already was."

"What happened to her? From the way you speak of her, it seems like she died. Did she?" asked Ron. Mrs. Weasley glared at him.

"No, she was…hurt. I only saw her once afterward but was unable to help her.

She…was captured… It was a long time ago, _way_ before your time, so don't worry about it," Ayame said hastily waving it off. They could clearly see it pained her to talk about it.

"Do you know where she is now? Is she even alive?"

"No, I don't know where she is now. I know she's alive, she tried to contact me before, and girls like her don't give up on life _that _easy. That is why I came to England and joined the Ministry as a guard. To train myself in order to find her and keep my promise," Ayame said quietly, " Not that I need training that much. I master in Martial Arts and Kendo."

Silence greeted the end of her speech along with some impressed glances.

They all threw her sympathetic looks and they all gave her their sympathy.

"You don't have to apologize! Please don't! It wasn't your fault, it was mine! I didn't protect her, I couldn't…"

" I don't think you should blame yourself either, it wasn't your fault," Harry reasoned, " Didn't she have a boyfriend or something to help her?"

" But it was! It was my entire fault! Her so called 'boyfriend' left her for another woman! He wasn't there to help her! I should've never left her! I was too worried about my own damn problems that I wasn't there for her! It's because of me that she's probably dead or hurt out there, with no one to save her!" Ayame rose out of her chair while she screamed, her green eyes flashing angrily. Electricity cracked around her, and her wand made furious sparks, almost setting her robes afire.

Everyone was shocked to hear all of the bitter things spewing out of the mouth of the sweet woman they had met. When she realized her position, with everyone staring at her, she smiled nervously and slumped down again, a defeated expression marring her features.

" It _is_ my fault," they heard her whisper more to herself than anyone.

" It's not," Harry insisted gently.

" It _is_. You'd never understand," she said, her eyes on her plate, " I think I'm going to head to bed. I've lost my appetite, thank you, it was very delicious."

She got up and bowed. " Are you sure you don't want any dessert…?" Hoa asked feebly calling after the tortured guest.

Ayame had already left.

Mrs. Weasley glared accusingly at the teens and Harry felt guilty for pushing Ayame almost to the brink of tears. But, he had to find out what happened. He had a feeling that there was more to the story than meets the eye.

" You all should be ashamed of yourselves! You shouldn't have been so nosey and asked all those questions! You lot should apologize! No dessert for you," Mrs. Weasley reprimanded, making all the teens fell even worse, especially Harry.

" Sorry," was what murmured throughout the table.

" What are you apologizing to me for?" Mrs. Weasley said smartly.

The teens excused themselves and trooped up the stairs glumly, ready to apologize.(Charlie and Bill stayed behind)

" Wow, you sure have them whipped and trained," Hoa stated.

" Oh, well, I try," Mrs. Weasley said beaming.

**.: With Ayame :.**

Ayame sighed and collapsed on her bed.

She knew they were only kids but she couldn't help but get irritated at the questions that were eating her from the inside out. She felt guilty for ruining the welcoming dinner Hoa had put so much into.

She sighed again and looked about the room she had received, taking it all in for the first time. Her things were in a corner, neatly piled, and she had to give Hideki credit for the design of the room, she never knew a man had such good taste in interior design. She had a four poster bed with red hangings complete with matching curtains in the huge windows. Along the other wall was a fireplace and decorating the room was gigantic Japanese fans and other various trinkets (i.e. a mirror, a bureau…etc.)

' _I should have never left her…she was always there for me, helping me through things with Kouga. He wouldn't even give me the time of day, until he realized chasing after Kagome was pointless. And _**she** _was there to help me get through all the hurt and helped me get Kouga to realize his feelings for me. But look how it turned out for her! She out of all people never, ever, deserved such a thing to happen to her! I can't believe _he _would drop her just like that, for that haughty, snobbish, arrogant, self absorbed, bit-!'_

Her thoughts were interrupted when a knocking came at her door. Her nose twitching, she sighed for the third time she set foot in her room, and went to open the door.

_Oh, how nice, it's the kids_, she thought wryly.

" We just wanted to apologize for getting into your business like that, it was wrong of us," came an apologetic voice.

" It certainly was," she said cheekily. She inwardly smiled when they winced, clearly not expecting her harsh tones.

She sighed, again.

" Come on in," she said opening the door fully, revealing a large room about the size of their Gryffindor Common room. She watched them all horde in, along with two owls, and a bowl-legged ginger cat waltz in. She squealed when she saw Crookshanks.

" Awwwww! What an adorable cat! He's soo -!" she froze mid sentence, her mouth gaping open.

" What's wrong?" asked George, his face now concerned, which didn't suit him at all.

" Fred!" she shrieked.

" No, I'm George," he said bemusedly.

" No! Fred!" she said frantically, her hands and arms tense.

" No! I'm George! That's Fred!" he said jabbing his thumb in the direction of his identical twin brother.

" No! Fred!" she yelped, her eyes intensely challenging his.

" No!! I am George!"

" No!!!! Fred!!"

" Noooooo! George!"

" No! Fred!"

" Oh - for the love of – _I_ am _George!_"

" No! **_FRED_**!"

" I'm Fred!" exclaimed Fred pointing at himself, then to his brother, " He's George! Fred, George! I am George! I mean Fred! I mean - oh, I'm confused!"

" I am George! Is that right? Yes – no! Aw! Now _I'm _confused!" exclaimed Fred…er…George.

" Nooooo! Fred! My cat! My cat, Fred! I left him all alone at my apartment! He has no one to feed him! Oh! I can't believe I left him! What am I gonna do?!" Ayame said wringing her hands.

Fred and George looked at her with incredulity.

" You put us through all that, for us to find out you were talking about your cat?" George said with incredulity.

" Maybe!" Ayame exclaimed, her eyes shifting elsewhere.

" Wait - you named your cat Fred?" Fred asked in disbelief.

" Maybe," came Ayame's one word answer again. It was amazing how she still acted like a teen but was really in her early to mid twenties.

" So, why _were _you freaking out over a cat?" asked George. The others, with the exception of Fred and George, watched with amusement.

" When I joined the Order, I was in a rush to pack my stuff to come here. I forgot to feed Fred, and call my Okaa-san," she replied.

" Your _what_?"

" My Okaa-san, ugh, my mother!" she said impatiently.

" Why didn't you just say so?"

" I did!"

"Did not!"

" I _so_ did!"

"Did not! You said oh-oh-oh, something!" protested George.

" Okaa-san! It means mother in Japanese!" she replied exasperatedly.

"Wait - your Japanese?!" Fred said with astonishment, making all the other occupants of the room ogle at her. Harry was slightly reminded of Cho Chang.

" Yes! Is it so hard to believe?"

" Yes! You don't look Japanese!"

" Eh, I get that a lot," she shrugged.

" Wait, that means you can speak Japanese too!"

"Yeah Fred, usually when someone is from another country they can speak the native language," Ayame said stating the obvious and talking slowly, " Where do you think my name comes from?"

" You can speak Japanese! Great, a bilingual! I thought I was the only one! Wait…I'm trilingual! Fred too!" exclaimed George proudly.

" Your trilingual?!" Ayame said, clearly amazed. The tables had turned indeed.

" Yup, we can speak English –"

" Slang-"

" And profanity," the twins said together grinning idiotically. The others who were not expecting two 'trilingual' twins, just laughed.

" You know what else is hard to believe?" Fred asked after everyone had stopped laughing. He had been observing Ayame closely.

" Huh?" everyone looked questioningly at him.

"That you're older than us!"

Ayame looked concerned for a moment before smiling warmly.

" I know! I get that a lot, too!"

" Yeah, I can see why," George said dryly, clearly still a little worked up about the whole 'Guess Who' game. Uh-oh, looks like he touched a nerve…

" What was that?" Ayame said with sweetness that promised pain.

" N–nothing!" he replied hastily. The others laughed at him, and he glared back.

"Fred!"

Fred and George sighed.

"I thought we already covered this! I'm George, he's Fred."

"No! My cat! What am I gonna-Aha! I know!" Ayame reported snapping her fingers.

She walked to her fireplace and started to inspect the bricks with her index finger on her chin.

The others looked at each other before following her.

"Um, what are you looking for?" asked Ron.

"Um…Found it!" she exclaimed happily. She put her ear to stone and knocked.

Nothing.

" Um…"

Just then, a stone brick slid slowly out and Ayame snatched it and threw it to the unlucky person behind her: Ginny. She reached her hand in and pulled a sack out.

"What's that?" asked Harry eyeing the sack.

"The thing that's gonna solve our problems!" she said cheerfully jiggling the sack in front of her.

"Don't you mean _your_ problems?" Fred said dryly.

She glared at him and he wisely kept his mouth shut. She smiled again.

"Now if you lot will kindly step back, we can enjoy the show!"

They all stepped back with the exception of Ayame, who stood in front of the fireplace. She opened the sack and reached in to grab a handful of who knows what.

" Isn't that…?" Harry trailed off, his eyes eyeing the green dust in her hand.

" Yup, Floo Powder!" she replied.

" Are you going somewhere?" asked Ginny curiously, still holding the brick.

" Nope, he's coming to us!" Ayame said. She put her hand out in front of her and blew the powder into the fireplace, bringing forth dancing bottle green flames. They all recognized this and their curiosity waxed, wondering just what this woman was going to do.

Instead of walking into the fire or sticking her head into it like they'd expected, a depiction of a well furnished living room came into view.

" Where is that?" someone inquired.

" My apartment!" Ayame informed.

" Nice," commented Hermione.

" Well, I try," she said, not noticing she had mirrored Mrs. Weasley's earlier words.

" So…what exactly are you trying to accomplish?" requested Ron.

" You'll see," responded Ayame in a sing-song voice making the others even more curious.

Ayame then started calling out to an unknown life force.

" Freeeeed! Freddie-poo!"

Fred made an exasperated face and let out a sigh, a single eyebrow raised as he watched for whatever this woman had named after him.

There was a low mewling and a fat white and brown spotted cat popped out of nowhere.

"That _thing _is _Fred?!_" Fred exclaimed dubiously pointing a finger at the cat that had just amazingly jumped into Ayame's outstretched arms. Fred, the cat, hissed at Fred and he retracted his hand before the fat cat had a chance to bite it off.

Ayame smiled at her cat proudly and then stuck her nose up at Fred.

Everyone was highly amused at the sight before them. Fred was so angry that they could almost see the steam blowing out of his ears as Fred (the cat) and Ayame teased him.

" I'm sure you two will get along just fine!" Ayame said happily.

" Yeah, I can see the similarities," said George smirking. To him, this was great. He never really laughed _at_ his twin because they were always partners in crime.

" Shut up," Fred growled.

They all laughed while Crookshanks and Fred the cat got 'acquainted'.

A/N So, how was it? I think it was too boring! This was originally supposed to be longer but my friend and I decided it would have been TOO long! Next chapter deals with th girls and Shigure, it'll come out soon! Dont worry!

R&R!

I Love You All!


	6. A Day Out

**A/N Hey everyone! This chapter is like…MONTHS late. I have So much to do and write, and school isn't helping at all. But, at least this chapter got out! Please Read and Review! Tell me what you think!**

" Ooooh! That's a nice one! Hm, that one's too skinny! Eh, too much clothing! Not enough skin!" Shigure commented on females they were passing by on the street. Mai was currently driving and he was in the passenger seat while Thao and the masked girl sat in the back.

"HIGH SCHOOL GIRLS!" Shigure practically screamed while pressing his face to the window trying to get a better look.

"Will you QUIT IT! Damn two for making me stop the damn car! Now we have to drag the pervert along with us!" Mai screamed and accused the two girls in the back and Shigure while pulling him back down into his seat by the collar of his kimono. He pouted and muttered that she never let him have any fun.

Mai turned back to the road and scowled as she tried concentrating on driving. This was one of her first times driving a Muggle vehicle for she had always traveled by broomstick or Floo powder. Her dad didn't really want her to drive a Muggle vehicle since two summers ago. Hey, it wasn't her fault! It was that damn old lady's! She should have been watching the road! Anyone could have run her over!

Suddenly Shigure regained his energy and excitedly turned around in his seat to address the masked girl who leaned back slightly.

"So, are you excited? I know I am! This is our first time in England! We could travel together! Travel buddies! It'll be so wonderful, me, you, tea, a great view, and high school girls!" he exclaimed excitedly.

"You aren't going anywhere by yourself! It's either you come with us or you don't and stay home!" Thao finally spoke up.

"Well, I won't be alone! She'll come with me!" Shigure said defiantly pointing at the masked girl who looked oblivious to what was going on. She was staring wide eyed with amazement at the buildings and the people walking by, as if she had never seen this before.

/_What is this place? Where did the huts go? The village/_

Mai didn't see her, seeing as how she was concentrating on the road. When the masked girl finally got her attention, she asked again.

"What do you mean? Village? Huts? Those times are _way_ over! You must be living in Feudal Japan or something because I don't remember there being any huts in London," Mai replied.

/_Well, I've heard of them…at least I think I have…I don't remember/_

Mai didn't see her again, so when she gave the girl her attention, she ignored her for a moment and turned to Shigure.

"Shigure, you have a license, right?"

Shigure closed his eyes, paused, and smiled.

"Of course I do," he replied opening his dark eyes.

"Then what was the pause for?" Thao asked dryly.

The car swerved dangerously as Mai and Shigure switched places, their bodies in a tangle. When they finally got to their designated spots, Mai was now sitting in the front, twisted around in her seat, much like Shigure was.

" Ok, so what _do _you remember?" Mai asked seriously.

/_I don't remember seeing any tall huts like these…I…just…know about them…/ _

Mai and Thao looked at her weirdly before stealing a glance at each other.

" So…What you're saying is…that you _know _what they look like…but you've never actually _seen _them?" Mai asked, trying to put her words together.

The girl looked thoughtful for a moment, contemplating on what Mai had said before nodding rapidly.

" That's…odd," Thao commented.

" So, you don't remember anything else? Nothing at all?"

The masked girl shook her head again.

" Damn…"

The car swerved dangerously and the girls grabbed their seats and held on for dear life as Shigure cackled madly.

" SHIGURE!"

* * *

" LAND!" screamed Thao as she jumped out of the vehicle and kissed the ground-literally. Ignoring the looks she was getting from passersby, she turned her attention to the other occupants of the vehicle who were getting out.

Mai got out, holding a hand over her heart and breathing heavily. The masked girl got out shakily, leaning on Mai for support. And that damn Shigure got out, humming as if he hadn't a care in the world.

" How can you be so calm!" Thao screamed at him.

" That was fun! Next time we go somewhere, I'm driving!"

" You are not! You almost got us killed!"

" You're lucky we got away from those damn cops!"

Mai and Thao were busy screaming obscenities at Shigure while he tried to defend himself, leaving the masked girl to give a feeble attempt at calming them down.

" Well, well! Look at the time! I must be going now! I have to meet my editor in an hour at a local café! See you later!" Shigure said merrily, leaving the three girls by themselves.

" Come back here you coward! Mii isn't here! You left your editor in Japan you retard!" Mai yelled at his retreating back. ( Mii is the name of his editor) She sighed and turned to look at Thao who looked like Christmas had come early. Quirking an eyebrow, she turned to look at what she was looking at. She groaned.

" Not Forever 21! Come on!"

**

* * *

**

**.: Scene Change :.**

" Oh my gosh! This one! You _have_ to try this one on! It'll look splendid with your…erm…mask!"

" Um, no thanks. I think we've got it covered," Thao said trying to get the overly boisterous saleswoman away from them. She was currently shoving clothes from their hangers under their noses.

" Oh! What about this one?" the woman said again, quickly regaining her disposition.

" Um, no. Like she said before, I think we have it covered! Thanks…Mona," Mai said reading the woman's nametag.

Ignoring Mona's pout, they went around the store to browse for anything that would catch their eye. Mai headed to the pants and jeans section while Thao and the masked girl went to look at tops.

Thao looked over at Mai to see what she had found so far and wasn't surprised to see her carrying many black pants and jeans.

She led the girls along the racks lined up at the wall and observed her findings. She made noncommittal noises as she gazed at each one. The girl next to her just glanced at her before directing her gaze back to the wall.

" Hey Thao! Find anything yet?" came Mai's voice from over the aisle racks.

" Nah, not yet!" she answered back. She let out an 'Ah' when she found a pink top that she thought was adorable. She admired it before asking the girl what she thought of it.

/ _It's nice, I like it/_

Thao squealed just as Mai came over to check out their findings. When she saw the chosen item, she rolled her eyes.

" Thao, the forever girly – girl," she muttered.

"Hey, your one to talk! You're…Mai, the forever…punky…sporty chick!" Thao retorted looking her friend up and down. Mai laughed and glanced at the other girl.

" And you…are…The Mysterious Masked Maverick!" Thao and Mai said together after sizing the, now dubbed, The Mysterious Masked Maverick. The all both burst into a fit of giggles at their assumption while their masked companion just shook her head, but behind her mask, she was smiling.

**

* * *

**

**..:Scene Change:..**

"Huh… I never knew that penguins could get shipped over in planes… You'd think that they'd go by boat, eh?" Thao said, breaking the silence.

"Well, maybe they _did _go by boat. Do you just _assume_ that a plane took them?" Mai said.

"Uh, erm, well, uh, _DAMMIT, MAI!_ CAN'T A GIRL BREAK A SILENCE WITHOUT THINKING, AND NOT HAVE HER FRIEND SCREW IT UP!" Thao screamed.

Everyone turned to stare at Thao's outburst.

"Um, nothing to see here, folks! This girl," she pointed at Thao, "is just a little…" Mai twirled her finger around her own head, earning a "Hey!" from said girl. The audience shrugged it off and continued on their trip.

They were currently at one of the local zoos; examining the animals they happened by, currently the penguins.

After a little shouting match between Mai and Thao, both girls settled down to mumbling incoherent words, turned away from the other.

" This is just great! Now the whole damn zoo thinks I'm some nut all because _someone _had to correct my attempt at a damn silence breaker!"

" Well you succeeded on breaking the silence," muttered Mai.

Thao just glared at her before turning to the masked girl to help back her up…only, she wasn't there.

" Mai…?"

" What?" grumbled Mai, still a little angry.

" _Please_ tell me you sent our masked maverick to the snack line because you were oh–so hungry after our little shouting match," Thao said quickly, her words jumbled together.

Mai finally turned around to look to the center vacant spot between her and Thao. She stood wide eyed at the spot, then to Thao, and then back to the spot, before returning her gaze once again, to Thao.

" Um…" was all she had to say before Thao took off running in the opposite direction. She sighed before taking off after her.

Thao stopped at a crowd of people.

She had run out of breath calling for the girl and running the whole time looking. Mai stopped alongside her a moment later, gasping for air. As soon as she straightened, she inquired her companion as to what the crowd was for. Thao replied that she didn't know when a loud snarl came from before the crowd. The crowd gasped dramatically and then there were some shouts.

" What is this?"

" I dunno, oh wait! It says… 'Tiger Pen'. ' Come and view the magnificent tigers from blah blah blah…We are welcoming the new addition to our group, a charming white Bengal tiger'. Wow, if that's the case, what's everyone so worried about?"

Mai shrugged. She turned to a random person, and asked, " What's going on?"

The man she tapped turned to look at her briefly before craning his neck to get a better look at whatever the crowd was gawking at. Mai and Thao couldn't see a thing; several people were towering above them.

" The new white Bengal tiger was being put on for show but then it just went downhill from there," he craned his neck again before continuing, " The tiger went crazy and then some odd girl somehow got into the territory and calmed the thing down.

" The guards started going mad, saying that if she got hurt, it was their necks. But the girl just stayed there petting the thing and whenever the guards try to get in, the beast just kind of roars at them. Now the guards are at a loss at what to do. They've been trying to get that crazy girl out of there for about twenty minutes. But the lass won't budge; she just sits there petting that thing."

As soon as he was finished with his recount of the story, Thao and Mai rushed forward to the front of the fence. From their part of the fence, was a mini canyon and on the other side of that lay the territory of the tigers. Sitting there surrounded by tigers was none other than…

" The Mysterious Masked Maverick!" screamed Thao. Mai snickered before realizing how serious the situation was. She cursed. Why did her fun always have to be ruined, she thought as Thao rushed forward.

" Come on," Thao ushered Mai toward the entrance of the gate leading to the Tigers' Pen. There they were met by the hostile security guards, officials, zookeeper, and the manager.

" I'm sorry miss but we cannot allow you through. This is restricted ground for our visitors, for their safety," one of the guards said blocking their path. Thao happened to be the one he was talking to.

" Yeah, well a lot of good that did! Looks like your little plan failed! Now if you would let us in, we'd be happy to take the tigers out of harms way!" Thao shouted pointing over the guards shoulder towards the pen. She glared at him, hoping to burn a hole through his thick skull.

" Um, Thao, " Mai said weakly.

" What?" Thao snapped.

" Don't you mean get the girl out of harms way?"

" Oh…right…Yes! We would be ecstatic if you let us through to retrieve the young lady that is currently being held captive by your zoo's animals!"

" You know the young lass?" another security guard asked, his tranquilizer gun sitting on his shoulder, ready to use if the time came.

" Yes! She is my…cousin!" Thao lied.

Suddenly, a tall scrawny man made his way toward the two girls after he heard this. He looked down at them and sniffed, his goatee twitching as if he thought they were mere trash.

" That…_girl_…is yours?" he said in an annoyingly nasally voice.

Mai and Thao glared at him, immediately disapproving of this greasy haired excuse of a man.

" Yes, she is our _friend_. I would appreciate it if you would not speak of her in that tone, _sir." _Mai said coldly stepping forward.

" Your little _friend _is on restricted ground" he was cut off by Thao.

" Yes, but _your_ security failed to see that no one trespassed!"

The security guards shifted uncomfortably at this.

" – I could press charges against you _and _your little friend over there for it-" Mai stepped forward with her fist clenched and her face contorted in anger, " -and for assault."

The two girls and obnoxious manager continued exchanging glares. If looks could kill, this man would be dead and buried deep into the earth, with a rock as a tombstone before you could say 'Oh look, there's the Minister of Magic dancing around in the nude!' Ew, that's really gross! Best not ponder on that thought…anyway…

A sudden loud 'roar' was heard from within the pen and all figures turned their wild gazes toward the noise.

It seemed as though some of the guards were getting desperate and tried to approach the tigers and the girl. Apparently she did not notice as she was too busy lounging on the belly of one tiger and petting the new white Bengal tiger without a care in the world.

Mai and Thao shoved the arrogant manager into his guards and ran into the pen. They went as far as they could go before the tigers went forward, thinking them a threat. The manager also tried to come forward to give the girls a piece if his mind but couldn't get past the angry tigers who were circling him dangerously.

Thao and Mai looked apprehensive. Who could blame them? I mean, who wouldn't be when you got two vicious looking tigers circling you and giving you the evil eye? Ha, I'd piss my pants, but luckily they had someone to help them other than brain dead loser guards with useless tranquilizer guns (which I might add, they were _not_ using) and a scrawny, greasy haired individual who called himself the manager of this sorry excuse of a zoo. (No offense to the zoos in England!)

The masked girl stood and petted the tigers that were threatening her two new friends and once again sat herself down and fawned over the 'cute' tigers. Mai and Thao gave each other a side long glance and sat down next to her cautiously, the tigers nudging them down next to her after they gathered they were not a threat.

" So how did you get in here?" Mai asked while carefully eyeing the tiger that was nuzzling her knee.

/_ I saw these poor animals held in captivity, so I decided to help them. But then a man closed the door on me, so I could not get out. Was it bad/_

" Well, yes. It was a dangerous feat to accomplish, not to mention the fact that nobody was allowed in here due to rabid, meat-eating tigers," Thao said casually.

" _And _the fact that these animals belong to the damn zoo," muttered Mai giving the manager an evil look.

The two modern girls watched in amusement as their new friend scooped up a tiny tiger cub and cuddled it. But their amusement turned into sorrow as they watched her nuzzle it against the side of her mask, not really feeling it. The tiny cub licked the side of her mask and purred, laying itself in her lap. They quickly masked up their feelings when she turned happy eyes upon them and her eyes smiled. They smiled back, though the look of pity in their eyes.

She must have seen it for she signed to them about it.

_/ What's wrong/_

Thao and Mai looked at each other for the millionth time that day. They both reassured her that nothing was wrong, although they knew she could see right through it. She didn't push them to tell her though, which was a good thing.

" We really should be going," Thao said after a couple moments. The masked girl snapped to attention.

_/ Do we have to/_

" Yeah, afraid we do," Mai sighed. " We can't exactly stay here in the tiger's pen at the zoo forever. And besides, we still have to find Shigure's retarded self, and my dad and Hoa will be expecting us home."

The masked girl nodded sadly and petted the sleeping cub in her lap. Picking it up slowly, she put it next to its mother. Standing, they started to leave when a tug on their clothes stopped them. The tigers had a portion of clothing in their jaws.

" Guys, you know we can't stay," Thao said petting the mane of one.

The masked girl nodded and then bent down to nuzzle the tiger that was holding her captive. She petted it in reassurance and then motioned for the other two girls to make their leave. The tigers let go, watching them go with sadness, some whimpering in protest.

" Bye," whispered Mai as they were exiting the gate. Thao waved cheerlessly and the masked girl never looked back.

They got home without worry, after searching the city for Shigure and finding him in an old pub, flirting with the waitress. After many arguments and whining on Shigure's part, they left.

All in all they had a wonderful day. But what the next day had in store for them was even more eventful than the next…

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**A/N How was it? Please review and tell me what you think! Thank you all for all those who DID review!**


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